“In the fight against corruption and impunity, citizens must take the first step and, fortunately, that is happening in the Dominican Republic,” said Deputy Prosecutor Wilson Camacho on Tuesday, when participating in the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) held in Egypt.
According to a Attorney General press release, Camacho, who is responsible for heading the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca), stressed that the Dominican Republic is in the midst of a historic moment in which the Public Prosecutor’s Office is working to accelerate the process of eradicating government crimes impunity.
“In the Dominican Republic, with the arrival of Magistrate Miriam Germán Brito to the Attorney General’s Office and her team, starting in 2020, the energies of the Public Ministry were renewed and we assumed the commitment to connect with that yearning of society to put an end to impunity,” he presented when speaking during the ninth session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), taking place 13 to 17 December in Egypt.
Camacho said when he was appointed deputy attorney general and placed at the head of Pepca, he was entrusted with the task of prosecuting acts of corruption in accordance with the Constitution and the laws.
“Since then, and with the collaboration of the Public Ministry and other units of the Public Prosecutor’s Office dedicated to the persecution of organized crime, we have presented before the courts several corruption processes involving tens of millions of dollars distracted to the detriment of the Dominican state,” he remarked.
The deputy attorney general of the Dominican Republic explained he had participated virtually in the conference because his anti-corruption work prevented him from attending in person in the event.
He recalled that in 2016 and early 2017 the Dominican Republic began to experience a historic moment of social empowerment with the movement of “The March to End Impunity” or “Green March”, which he described as the starting point of this process of confronting the structures and practices of corruption in the Public Administration.
The Dominican Public Prosecutor’s Office representative said that, in the face of such citizen empowerment, those responsible for government are obliged to take the next step to eradicate impunity and fight against corruption in government.
“They must be convinced that a transparent state is good for everyone, including the political class, and that it generates a virtuous circle of benefit and development for the nation,” he said.
He said that the fight against administrative corruption contributes to generate confidence in the investment climate, a situation that he described as vital for the development of the people, especially at a time when the world is dominated by commercial activity.
“Our country has pending goals and we are aware of this. Among these goals is that of improving international transparency indexes, in addition to improving our legal framework, including the approval of a law of extinction of ownership that allows for the expeditious prosecution of corruption and the recovery of assets that are acquired as a consequence of the commission of these illicit acts,” he stated.
He mentioned the Dominican Republic needs better trained human and technical resources for the persecution of corruption.
“In the Dominican Republic we are aware that we must not rest until we reduce the levels of corruption and impunity to a minimum, that we must ensure a regime of consequences that applies to all equally and that we must commit ourselves to fostering a culture of transparency and respect for the law,” he said.
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Attorney General Office
15 December 2021